I've got a 1/2 cord of seasoned split pecan wood (apparently similar to hickory) being delivered on saturday hopefully. $150 delivered and stacked. Same price for oak or mesquite, but I didn't want to risk oak wilt spores with the oak and thought the mesquite might impart too much flavor despite being burned for heat rather than smoke.

I can't advise on mesquite, but all the hardwoods you mentioned are great for heating. But, if my guess is correct, even mesquite will not "impart too much flavor. That is, if the oven is brought up to pizza temps. Most of the flavor will go up the flu. For smoking, at much lower temps, each one will be very different. Add also the fruit woods/vines to the different smoking flavors. I had not heard about the "oak wilt spores" until your post. That conserns me greatly, since I fire (for clearing the dome temps) with red oak, mostly. I googled, and one of the first hits on the lists was this.

This is a quote from the site.

Quote:

Do not transport or buy unseasoned firewood. Fungal mats
may form on unseasoned red oak firewood infected with oak
wilt, making it possible to spread oak wilt to uninfected are
Seasoned firewood (dried for at least one year) should not spread
oak wilt. Also, burning infected wood cannot transmit oak wilt.

You may have to find (through references) a trusted wood supplier. Or, become your own. There are a lot of free sources out there. You will find them (in your area) within time .

This is "my first rodeo" with this disease, so welcome all other advice!

Also. thanks for the heads up. This sht is probably coming my way!

Oh wait, If it is coming out of Texas, maybe, just maybe, hopefully, it will get intercepted in the "fourth quarter" .

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Burning the oak wilt is not the issue, Gulf, storing it is. I lost 10 of 30 trees on my lot to it.

Tscar,
Storing it wet may be. Before this thread, I had not heard about the disease. I sincerely hope that it doesn't get to my part of Mississippi. By that time I hope that I have learned enough from Ya'll to understand how to cope widthn this sht.

I will now highlight another sentence or two of the quote.

Do not transport or buy unseasoned firewood. Fungal mats
may form on unseasoned red oak firewood infected with oak
wilt, making it possible to spread oak wilt to uninfected areSeasoned firewood (dried for at least one year) should not spread
oak wilt. Also, burning infected wood cannot transmit oak wilt.

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I'm by no means an expert on oak wilt, which is why I opted for pecan instead (so I wouldn't have to be). What I have learned however is that different types of oak are more susceptible -- red oak in particular is seen as the prime means of transmission as it is heavily susceptible. Texas Live Oak is moderately susceptible and post oak much less so. So in general, if you just get seasoned post oak firewood it should be pretty safe. But pretty safe isn't 100% safe, and the wood suppliers I talked to carried all three kinds of oak -- I didn't want to risk getting the wrong kind mixed in at all.

I was basing my wood selection on the page here:Berry Bros Firewood Co.
It said that mesquite was great for pizza ovens, but that pecan (aka domesticated hickory) was the best.

Anyhoo, did a big burn today. No flames shooting out the opening, but big enough that they were licking out the arch just a litle. Cleared the whole dome :-). After it settled down and I pushed it to the side, oven thermometer on the floor on the other side was reading 575. Made about nine pizzas (about 9" each) with various toppings for family and my parents. All came out great, even/especially the one that burned just a bit.

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